Jelisava

My sugar cubes have been supersized / May 2007

I know this is a little thing in the grand scheme of things, but it's the little pleasures in life that get you through. I like to use sugar cubes in my tea. A nice compact measurement of sweetness. You know exactly how much you're getting so the tea isn't too sweet or not sweet enough. For years I purchased the smaller-size sugar cube and now, suddenly, I can only find the “supersized” version (according to the box it equals 9/10s of a teaspoon). It has thrown my tea routine into a tizzy! Two is too many and one not enough!

The word sugar is probably derived from the Arabic al sukkar, derived from the Persian shaker, derived from the Sanskrit sarkara. (Portuguese: açucar; Spanish: azúcar; Italian: zucchero; French: sucre) According to sucrose.com, in 510 BC the Emperor Darius of what was then Persia invaded India where he found “the reed which gives honey without bees” (i.e., sugar cane). Did you know you could buy fancy decorated sugar cubes? (I didn't)